Believers see the UN’s Agenda 2030 as a blueprint for one-world government ratified September 25, 2015 as a harbinger of the seven-year period called the Tribulation.

Doubters point to the persistence of deep divisions in world views, most significantly with respect to religion. No argument there. But when the church is gone only delusion will remain.

We saw a couple of weeks ago that the Pope, at the UN, concurred with the UN’s call for global government in order to accomplish peace and parity for all, through the 17 comprehensive global issues areas that are now slated to come under UN control. And high on the list of his methods of affecting world peace is to iron out differences in religious views.

Iron out meant literally. As completely remove them.

And he got started almost the minute he donned the Popely garb.

In July of 2013, His Holiness wished for Muslims celebrating Ramadan that their efforts would bear great spiritual fruit.

Despite the fact that by definition, according to the Qur'an, the purpose of Ramadan is to "magnify" Allah.

A short time later, he sent a message to the Grand Imam of the Al-Azhar Mosque, Ahmed Al Tayyeb, expressing his respect for Islam and hope that a mutual understanding could be achieved so that Islam and the Vatican could work together for peace and justice.

Not long after, the Vatican issued a statement expressing their opinion that profound respect for the beliefs and texts of other religions (in the context, specifically, of Islam) is "an essential precondition for the peaceful coexistence of peoples."

"Fundamentalism is always a falsification of religion and goes against the meaning of religion which is, instead, an invitation to share God's peace throughout the world ... The basic message of religion must be against violence."

So…through this religion named “peace”, an invitation, in the name of the generic God, to share world peace can succeed, according to Francis. Which would seem doubtful, unless he had an ace up his sleeve of some sort.

And perhaps he does. An ace named The Virgin Mary.

Largely under the American religious radar, Virgin Mary apparitions have been going on all over the world. Particularly in Islamic countries.

Like Egypt. A socioeconomic crisis in 1968 was accompanied by an image of the Virgin Mary above a Coptic Christian church in Cairo and remained five months. More than a million Islamic Egyptians saw the apparition, and largely viewed it as a supernatural sign of support. Mary again appeared, clothed in light, in 2009, and again in Cairo, in 2010. A Catholic priest who saw her then believed that her appearance was meant to bring about the end of the state of tensions between Muslims and Christians and an end to extremism.

Like Syria. Mary (our lady of Soufanieh) appeared in Damascus in 1982, during a civil war. And this time she spoke, delivering messages that focused on peace among all peoples. (The house in which Our Lady of Soufanieh appears is now a focal point of prayer in Damascus for both Christians and Muslims.)

Like Lebanon. an 8- minute apparition of the Virgin Mary appeared in Harrisa, Lebanon, in 2012, telling all Christians to give, and never, ever to judge.

And of course, in Bosnia, Herzegovina, where the mother of Jesus has ostensibly appeared in the town of Medjugorje repeatedly since 1981. Her website records her nearly 15 years of messages, and includes Arab translations.

As well as translations in nearly every other language. Because the apparitions aren’t appearing just to Arabs. Mary appeared to Rwandans shortly before the genocide there. And in Japan, beginning in 1983.

And in Mexico, and in Italy, and in Spain, and in Canada, and in Russiaa, and in Peru, and in Vietnam, and in France, and in Nigeria, and in Korea, and in Argentina, and in Zaire, and in Ukraine, and in Camerron, and in the Phillipines. and in Haiti.

And in Israel. All in just the last 30 years. Islam, particularly, in fact, has revered the Virgin Mary, and for centuries, as she is the only woman mentioned in the Koran and mentioned many more times than Mary is mentioned in the Bible.

So aside for us pesky Christians, for whom Christianity is not about world peace or social justice, but about spiritual truth. it would seem that the whole world, in fact, could rally around the Christianity shaping up under the new Vatican (with a little bit of help from Old Scratch himself in the form of the Virgin Mary) . Whose workings with respect to the new world church on the horizon are evident in the fact that many Protestant churches are now adding veneration of Mary to their practices.

Can you say Laodicea?

As for the real church? Well, we’ll be safe in the arms of our Redeemer, having been snatched out ahead of the chaos to come.